Drum & Bass News and Reviews

Apex – Echoes [Hospital]

The sad news last year of the passing of Rob Dickeson, aka Apex, was met with universal heartbreak across the D&B scene. An incredibly gifted musician responsible for a number of iconic tracks, first in collaboration with Jim Gash as Unknown Error and later under his solo Apex moniker, Rob left our world long before he should have.

To honour his memory, Hospital have now released the last known new music from Rob, with all proceeds going to Help Musicians UK’s “Music Minds Matter” campaign aimed at raising awareness surrounding mental health issues within the music industry.

The tracks on the single fittingly span almost the entire length of Rob’s discography – A side Echoes is a completely new, previously unheard track featuring characteristically sublime melody as piano, strings and synthetic chimes interact in a playful, serene dance set to a crispy liquid backbone of breaks and bass.

On the flip, vintage Unknown Error track The Yearning gets a Super VIP mix, embellished even further than the already lavish VIP released by Horizons Music in 2008; weighing in at over 9 minutes, and featuring an absolutely breathtaking pre-drop breakdown, this is emotional D&B at it’s best.

Sadly no Soundcloud / Youtube clips are available but you can hear a preview of Echoes either at the Hospital Store or at the beginning of the latest Dojo Podcast. Hit up the store to grab the single now on vinyl or digital; rest in peace Rob, you’ll be missed.